A visit to a doctor's office, a clinic or a hospital may necessitate vascular access that is, the insertion of a needle or catheter into a patient's vein or artery. These procedures may be required for many reasons including: to administer fluids, drugs or solutions, to obtain and monitor vital signs, to place long-term access devices, and to perform simple venipunctures. Vascular access ranks as the most commonly performed invasive medical procedure in the U.S—over 1.4 billion procedures annually—as well as the top patient complaint among clinical procedures. The overwhelming majority of vascular access procedures is performed without the aid of any visualization device and relies on what is observed through the patient's skin and by the clinician's ability to feel the vessel—basically educated guesswork.
Medical literature reports the following statistics: 28% first attempt IV failure rate in normal adults, 44% first attempt IV failure in pediatrics, 43% of pediatric IVs require three or more insertion attempts, 23% to 28% incidence of extravasations/infiltration, 12% outright failure rate in cancer patients, 25% of hospital in-patients beyond three days encounter difficult access. The miniature vein enhancer of the present invention may be used by a practitioner to locate a vein and is particularly useful when trying to locate a vein in the very old, very young or obese patients. More than fifty percent of attempts to find a vein in the elderly, who have a generally high percentage of loose, fatty tissue, and in children, who have a generally high percentage of small veins and “puppy fat”, are unsuccessful. The present invention is aimed at reducing and/or preventing the discomfort and delay associated with botched attempts to pierce veins for injections and blood tests. In addition, the present invention can cut the time it takes to set up potentially life-saving intravenous drip. During venous penetration, whether for an injection or drip, it is essential to stick a vein in exactly the right location. If a practitioner is only slightly off center, the needle will more than likely just roll off and require a re-stick.